All posts tagged: momentum

As European dynamism gathers momentum, Elaia and partners double down with new deep tech fund

As European dynamism gathers momentum, Elaia and partners double down with new deep tech fund

Published by skeptic

Deep tech is on the rise in Europe, fueled in part by the match between AI and a local flavor of math excellence. But it’s also benefiting from a growing community, public support and increasing amounts of funding. Elaia‘s third deep tech seed fund, DTS3, is an example: “It is double the size of the two previous funds,” Anne-Sophie Carrese, a managing partner at the French VC firm, told TechCrunch. With a first closing at €60 million, it is set to reach €120 million by the time its fundraising is complete, which she said should happen by early 2025. It’s already identified the first three startups to join its portfolio. While other deep tech funds have emerged across Europe since Elaia’s creation in 2002, the firm puts relationships it built with research institutions over the years to good use. Building these partnerships has proven to be a solid source of dealflow for Elaia — in some cases, it has even gotten priority or exclusive access to projects coming out of certain labs. For instance, partnerships …

Creators are frustrated but energized as TikTok ban gains momentum

Creators are frustrated but energized as TikTok ban gains momentum

Published by skeptic

The bill that could ban TikTok took one step closer to becoming a law on Wednesday. After being introduced just last week, the bill was fast-tracked through the House of Representatives and will now head to the Senate. V Spehar, the TikTok creator behind UnderTheDeskNews, has been a staunch critic of efforts to ban TikTok; they even traveled to Capitol Hill on TikTok’s behalf last year when CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before Congress. “People are energized to fight this, and are smart, and don’t appreciate being belittled,” Spehar told TechCrunch. “It’s really sad to know that half of America is being told to shut up by our elected officials.” If it becomes law, the bill would force ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to sell the app. But China has said in the past that it would oppose a sale (and can, per the government’s export rules, which changed in 2020). If ByteDance doesn’t sell TikTok, it would become illegal for app stores to distribute the app, which over 170 million Americans use. TikTok itself …

Anti-blasphemy extremism “gaining momentum” in UK, report warns

Anti-blasphemy extremism “gaining momentum” in UK, report warns

Published by Sam

A new report has warned UK ‘anti-blasphemy activism’ is becoming “increasingly radicalised” and being promoted by charities. The report, published by the Commission for Countering Extremism, says responses to perceived acts of ‘blasphemy’ in the UK are “more organised than ever” and some of the most prominent voices involved have links to “violent anti-blasphemy extremists” in Pakistan. The report also highlights the link between UK religious charities and anti-blasphemy extremism. The National Secular Society has consistently warned the charitable purpose of ‘the advancement of religion’ facilitates the promotion of extremism by charities. In September it referred Islamic Centre Leicester to the Commission after a sermon recorded at the centre suggested ‘blasphemers’ should be executed. “Blasphemy flashpoints” linked to “new generation” of activists Warning that responses to perceived acts of blasphemy are now “more organised than ever”, the report identifies major “blasphemy flashpoints” linked to a “new generation” of activists working to “make blasphemy a key issue of concern for British Muslims”. Three incidents in particular are highlighted by the report: a teacher in Batley forced …

Portugal’s Election Could Add Momentum to Europe’s Drift to the Right

Portugal’s Election Could Add Momentum to Europe’s Drift to the Right

Published by skeptic

LISBON, PORTUGAL —  Portugal is holding a general election Sunday against a backdrop of corruption scandals and economic hardship that have eroded faith in moderate mainstream parties and could push a significant number of voters into the arms of a radical right populist party. A slew of recent corruption scandals has tarnished the two parties that have alternated in power for decades — the center-left Socialist Party and the center-right Social Democratic Party, which is running with two small allies in a coalition it calls Democratic Alliance. Those traditional parties are still expected to collect most of the votes. Public frustration with politics-as-usual had already been percolating before the outcries over graft. Low wages and a high cost of living — worsened last year by surges in inflation and interest rates — as well as a housing crisis and failings in public health care contributed to the disgruntlement. That discontent has been further stirred up by Chega (Enough), a populist party that potentially could gain the most from the current public mood. Chega is widely …

Russian forces take three villages after Avdiivka victory showing momentum

Russian forces take three villages after Avdiivka victory showing momentum

Published by Sam

KYIV — After taking the strategic northeast Ukrainian town of Avdiivka two weeks ago, Russian forces have seized three more villages in the past few days, suggesting a growing momentum in their advance even as Western officials warn of the ammunition shortages Kyiv’s military is facing. Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Wednesday that its troops had taken the village of Stepove, seven miles northwest of Avdiivka. Ukrainian officials said the previous day that Kyiv’s forces had pulled back from Stepove and the neighboring village of Sieverne. Ukrainian forces also withdrew from the village of Lastochkyne “to organize defenses” along a new line of settlements, “aiming to prevent further enemy advancement to the west,” Dmytro Lykhoviy, a military spokesman, said Monday on Ukrainian television. Ukraine suffered losses during chaotic withdrawal as Russia seized Avdiivka The villages had little strategic importance, and Stepove and Sieverne had populations of less than 100 people even before Russia’s invasion, two years ago. But the gains indicated that Russia was pushing its advantage after taking Avdiivka — its first major victory since …

Greek farmers’ protest gains momentum

Greek farmers’ protest gains momentum

Published by skeptic

Greek farmers mobilize in front of Parliament in Athens, Wednesday, February 21, 2024. LOUISA GOULIAMAKI / REUTERS As night fell on Tuesday, February 20, Syntagma Square, located opposite the Greek Parliament in Athens, was transformed into an unusual gathering. Over 8,000 angry farmers from the four corners of Greece converged on the square with around 100 tractors. The air was filled with the blaring of horns and the chanting of provocative slogans like “Without us, what will you eat?” and “Without farmers, no future!” Thanassis Prassas has been taking part in the protest for the past 30 days and did not hesitate to make the journey to Athens from the flood-stricken region of Thessaly in September 2023. “Despite promises, five months on we still haven’t been fully reimbursed, and we don’t know whether we’ll be able to farm our land again. There’s still four meters of water around Lake Karla, where our farms are located.” Storm Daniel, which claimed 17 lives, also flooded nearly 73,000 hectares of land, according to the European Commission’s Copernicus emergency …

China’s chip industry is gaining momentum – it could alter the global economic and security landscape

China’s chip industry is gaining momentum – it could alter the global economic and security landscape

Published by skeptic

China’s national champions for computer chip – or semiconductor – design and manufacturing, HiSilicon and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), are making waves in Washington. SMIC was long considered a laggard. Despite being the recipient of billions of dollars from the Chinese government since its founding in 2000, it remained far from the technological frontier. But that perception — and the self-assurance it gave the US — is changing. In August 2023, Huawei launched its high-end Huawei Mate 60 smartphone. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (an American think tank based in Washington DC), the launch “surprised the US” as the chip powering it showed that Chinese self-sufficiency in HiSilicon’s semiconductor design and SMIC’s manufacturing capabilities were catching up at an alarming pace. More recent news that Huawei and SMIC are scheming to mass-produce so-called 5-nanometre processor chips in new Shanghai production facilities has only stoked further fears about leaps in their next-generation prowess. These chips remain a generation behind the current cutting-edge ones, but they show that China’s move to create …

The Guardian view on the digital pound: an impetuous idea with a risky momentum of its own | Editorial

The Guardian view on the digital pound: an impetuous idea with a risky momentum of its own | Editorial

Published by skeptic

Two years ago, the House of Lords looked into whether the Bank of England should issue digital pounds to be held in electronic wallets. Peers were unconvinced, asking if this wasn’t “a solution in search of a problem”. Last December, MPs on the Treasury select committee said the same thing. The government’s response, however, was to tell the public to prepare for a “Britcoin” to be in use by the end of the decade. Physical money has been around for thousands of years for good reason. Cash is convenient, reliable and anonymous. It seems unlikely that these advantages could be replicated online. State-backed e-cash might look inevitable to officials who say money is already digital, pointing to cryptocurrencies and smartphone payments. But central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are different. A Britcoin would shift the management burden from commercial banks to Threadneedle Street. Paul Tucker, a former deputy Bank governor, argued in his book Global Discord that the west is responding to China’s digital renminbi, which potentially gives the state social control through direct access to banking …